Sidewinders
by hariboo-smirks
Summary: fork in the road AU picking up at the end of "Mash Up". In the immortal words of Clue: that's how it went, but this is how it could have gone. Everything ends differently.


**Title**: Sidewinders  
**Fandom**: Glee  
**Pairing**: Puck/Rachel  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers/Warnings**: up until "Mash Up".  
**Disclaimer**: not mine!  
**Summary**: fork in the road AU picking up at the end of "Mash Up". In the immortal words of _Clue_: that's how it went, but _this_ is how it could have gone. Everything ends differently.  
**A/N**: Unbeated!

* * *

She ends their relationships on the bleachers, her hand at his shoulder, a tiny hand that is too warm and understanding.

"We can still be friends," she says, nervous, but hopeful.

He scoffs and can't believe how naive she is; he wants to storm off. Every muscle in his body is prepare to stalk away and leave her cold and alone, watching a boy that will never want her as much as she wants him. It's fucking depressing, and the worst part is that she's okay with it. Well, he's not. They're both kidding themselves with Finn and Quinn, and he's not going to be the one that everyone steps on. He starts to move, but at the last second his body betrays him and he turns on the metal bench.

Swinging his legs over, he moves to sit closer to her, curving his palm over one knee. She smiles, but it only lasts a second.

"We weren't friends before."

Her eyes flutter and her face falls. He hates to admit that he feels a sick satisfaction, but he does, because Rachel's so positive, so forgiving, so everything that it feels good to shake her world up a bit.

It's the only explanation for what he does next.

"We weren't friends before," he repeats, cupping her face and bringing it down to his.

Her lips are warm and she kinda falls into him a little, but her hands clench on his shoulder keeping her balance. He pulls her closer, finger tangling at the nape of her neck, and not so gently he bites on her bottom lip. Her tiny gasp is the hottest thing he's heard in a while and he uses he momentary shock to deepen the kiss.

He should be surprised when her hands curled tighter on his shoulder and she angles her lips over his, but for a girl with a dead social life, she sure can kiss. It's sexy as hell as she fights him for control and just as he begins feeling the tension roll out of her hands, he pulls away.

"And I don't think friends react like that, Berry." His smile is a little cruel, but her cheeks flush in response, "If you want to break up, that's fine, but that wasn't a break up kinda kiss." His hand is still on her knee and he smirks when he feels the goose-bumps rise on her skin.

"Noah," she breathes, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. So. Hot. "We'd never work out in the long run."

He tugs her forward until she's awkwardly straddling his lap, "Who says we have to?" He nips at her jaw, feeling her hands settle around his neck, her breath skitters out against his neck. She's in. He feels it in her body, how it sags against his, and he knows what she's feeling. It is lonely at the top, and being a badass he knows all about being at the top.

She wants more and so does he, but who the fuck say it they have to get it from Finn and Q.

----

They're together for almost two months (nobody is more shocked than he is, but being with Rachel just works, like scarily well, and he might be a little addicted to the crazy now) when Rachel finds out about Quinn. She consequently goes ahead and rips his balls (and heart) to shreds, mostly because she's crying big, sad, angry tears. Her voice raw with sobs and broken sentences about trust and betrayal.

And all he thinks is that he knew it was a bad idea to tell her, but it was a worse idea (one that haunted him for weeks) to let her find out by herself or god forbid, the Gleeks. She, unsurprisingly, kicks him out of her house, and then doesn't show up to school for like three days. It's like a sign of the apocalypse and everyone in glee keep sending him looks, like it's all his fault. Whatever, they're total bitches anyway.

Day four he goes to her house and makes himself ring the doorbell, because he's been parking across the street like a stalker for three days already. (And people think he's a horrible influence on her.)

When she opens the door she doesn't look surprised to see him. She lets him in, and she looks like shit. All he wants to do is kiss her.

They don't move from the entrance of her house, her tiny arms wrapped around her body.

Why does he keep hurting this girl? It used to be something he took pride in, now it just makes him sick to his stomach. Is seventeen too young for an ulcer?

"Rach, I'm so sorry. You have to know how sorry I am. You have to know that I told you because I didn't want to lie anymore." The apology tumbles from his lips.

She nods, but he can see the tears shining in her eyes. "I understand, Noah, but this—" She stops, looks away and when she looks back at him, he can tell she's trying to keep her composure. Over the last few weeks he's been the only one he lets her guard down with, so the fact that she's pulling away hurts more than he can explain. "You're the father of Quinn's baby. I need time to process. More time." He doesn't miss how her voice catches at the mention of Quinn, but she rushes past it, telling him how she appreciates being told the truth.

But her voice is sharp and factual. It's how she addresses the club when they rally against her. Like hell he's going to let her do that with him.

"Does that mean you're breaking up with me again, Rach?" His voice comes out a little too angry, but she's literally been _not_ talking to him for days. Even a stud like him can only take so much.

She doesn't answer.

Except. "You need to tell Finn."

He leaves after that.

But, _fuckitall_, she's right. He knows she is, because she like always is, and if it takes telling Finn to fix things, well, Finn's been in the dark too long already. So he goes tell Finn. Okay, first he tells Quinn that he told Rachel, and that thanks to Mercedes big mouth Glee already knows, because Quinn is the baby mama and he feels like he owes her the truth too. Fucking Berry and her influence on him.

Quinn bitches at him for-fucking-ever, but in the end it comes downs to this:

She loves Finn, and Finn is his boy, despite obvious fucked up baby daddy issues.

Also Puck knows Rachel; Mercedes and the Gleeks might keep their traps shut, but Rachel sees Finn as like her only friend (after Puck, of course, even if they're more like friends-with benefits-that-are-not-so-secretly-dating) and she won't stay quiet for long. His girl is all about loyalty and shit like that.

Puck and Quinn come to an agreement.

----

Puck ends up with a bloody nose. Quinn is kicked out of another house.

They end up on Rachel's doorstep, bleeding and crying. He is _not_ the one crying. Quinn keeps asking why they're here, but he needs to tell Rachel that Finn knows and it's not like he can take Quinn home—his mother would legit kill him. So there they are on Berry's doorstep, Quinn smacking him on the shoulder between her heavy sobs, and Puck just wants to bury himself in Rachel's skin, forget all this crap, and maybe get some pity-makeup-and-I-still-care-Noah action.

----

Bless his girl's heart; she's a total sap.

----

Rachel's dads take the situation with a grace that has clearly rubbed off on their daughter, and usher Quinn into their home like two mama bears. Puck's sure he's lost some valuable points with the Misters Berrys. It's okay, he'll make it up to them buy cleaning their pool free of charge, and after all, Rachel in her tiny bikinis is payment enough.

Quinn's in the guest room, sleeping the day off, and they're holed up in her room (door open, as he's lost all door closed privileges in last two hours. Whatever, there are ways around this.) watching _West Side Story_ on her laptop because Puck figures he owes her a little something after the week he's given her. He also kinda likes how she mindlessly runs her fingers across his scalp—she totally misses the hawk—where his head is resting on her lap and sings along whenever Maria is onscreen, it's soothing. She's soothing, and he craves it—her.

"Noah?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"You know why I didn't answer your question earlier, right?"

He rolls over and presses his cheek against her thigh, kissing the skin there. "Like you could break up with the Puckerone twice now that you've been a first hand witness to my mad bedroom skills."

She laughs, and Puck swears to Moses, his heart skips a beat in relief. Grinning, she kisses his forehead and yeah, they're fucking badass together. Suck it, world.**  
**


End file.
